Gauff and Fritz deliver late-night victory to edge Canada at United Cup

Taylor Fritz and Coco Gauff teamed up Sunday night to guide Team USA through an exhilarating United Cup tie against Canada in Group A. 

In a winner-takes-all mixed doubles rubber, the Americans showed their grit with a hard-fought 7-6(2), 7-5 victory over Felix Auger-Aliassime and Leylah Fernandez, sealing a 2-1 victory. Fritz and Gauff let slip a break lead in both sets but recovered to seal victory at 12:54 a.m. in Perth. 

"Really happy with how we played today in the mixed,” Gauff said. “I felt we got better the longer the match went. We had a lot of chances and finally we were able to stick 'em when it mattered.”

United Cup: Scores | Draws | Order of Play

Despite defeat, Fernandez showed her serving qualities against the big-hitting Fritz on several occasions. The 22-year-old saved three break points on her serve in the first set but eventually came undone by the Americans with a clinical tiebreak performance. In the second set, Fritz and Gauff’s resilience ultimately prevailed as they dug deep from 0/30 in the 12th game to clinch the tie. 

Auger-Aliassime and Fernandez had the opportunity to top Group A and qualify for the quarterfinals with a win but will have to wait until the outcome of the Unites States' matchup against Croatia on Tuesday to learn their county's fate. 

Auger-Aliassime had earlier leveled the tie and kept Canada alive with a comeback victory over Fritz, his first win against the American after three Lexus ATP Head2Head meetings. 

Trailing a set and a break, the 24-year-old came up with some redline tennis to sink Taylor Fritz 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 and send the tie to a live mixed doubles rubber. Having been unable to break Fritz’s serve in the seven sets they had contested going into the second, Auger-Aliassime struck twice in two games from 4-5 down to spark life into the crowd inside RAC Arena.

"It was a crazy night of tennis so far, it's not over," said Auger-Aliassime, referring to the deciding mixed doubles to come.

For Gauff, she picked up right where she left off last season by defeating Fernandez 6-3, 6-2 to put the U.S. up 1-0. In the first career meeting between the two young stars, the World No. 3 and WTA Finals champion unleashed her power and speed to secure a physical win.

"I'm super happy with how I played, and super happy to get a point on the board for my team," Gauff said. "I knew I was going to have to run a lot. Leylah can hit some crazy angles, so I was just trying my best to hit the best possible shot on them."

Gauff's court coverage, counterpunching, and growing confidence in her baseline power game proved too much for the similarly offensive-minded Fernandez. The 31st-ranked Canadian opened her United Cup with an upset win over Croatia's Donna Vekic on Day 1.